Suborbital
"Suborbital" in a Sentence (2 examples)
On December 22, 1960, soviet scientists attempted to launch Damka ("Little Lady") and Krasavka ("Beauty") on a Korabl Sputnik. However, the upper rocket stage failed and the launch was aborted. The dogs were safely recovered after their unplanned suborbital flight.
The first rocket test was suborbital; it didn't even get off the ground but rather exploded on the launchpad.